Foundation construction for reciprocating engines.



G. C. DAVISON.

FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION FOR RECIPROCATING ENGINES. APPLICATION FILEDAPR. 13. ms.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A TTOR/IIEIS.

G. C. DAVISON.

FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION FOR RECIPROCATING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I3- 1916- 1,284 ,255. I Patented Nov. 12, 1918..

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

N 5 c Q o O Q Jr f] /o AT II I I t Y HEM 5 8 o f mm@ 6' i l/ I 1,816: a5 O I O 9 a c I A INVENTOH .Q.\MW.

ATTORNEYS.

G. C. DAVISON.

FOUNDATION CONSTRUOTION FOR RECIPROCATING ENGINES.

APPLICATION HLED APR. I3. l9l6.

1 ,284,255 Patented N w. 12, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ATTORNEYS.

G. C. DAVISON.

FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION FOR RECIPROCATING ENGINES. APPLICATION FILEDAPR. 13 ISIS;

1,284,255. I Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GREGORY c. DAVISON, or NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, AYSSIGNOR TO ELECTRICBOAT COMPANY, or New YORK. N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY. r

FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION FOR BEGIPROCA'IING ENGINES.

Foundation Constructions for Reciprocating Engines; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full,-clear,.and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertainsto make and use the same.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines and is directed tothe provision of an improved construction for the foundation or framingof such an engine upon which the cylinders and other parts. are securedwith the required high degree of strength and rigidity and whichsupports and guides certain of the moving parts.

The primary object of the invention is to provide such ,a foundationconstruction which is strong and rigid,,which is also of light weightand sufliciently open to give access to the interior parts, such as thecrankshaft and cross-head bearings, and with which these ends aresecured without an objectionable increase in the length and breadthofthe engine.

l/Vhile the features of the invention-are applicable ,to internalombustion engines of various types and for various purposes, they are ofspecial utility in engines of the heavy oil type einployed fuponsubmarine boats. For such use it is common to employ two of the enginesarranged side by side and extending fore and aft of the boat and thespace available for the engines is greatly restricted, particularly asto its width. For this reason it is highly desirable that the width ofthe engine framing be reduced to a minimum and particularly that thesupports by which the cylinders are mounted upon the bed-plate of the"engine should be so constructed as not to increase either the length orthe breadth of the engine beyond what is made necessary by otherconsiderations. In the engines of this type as heretofore constructed,it has been common to provide pillars or columns erected upon thebedplate and supporting the cylinders at their upper ends: but in all ofthese constructions, so far-as I am aware, the shape of the columns.particularly at their lower ends, has been such as to efl'ect anundesirableincrease Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Nov 12,1918 Application as April 13, 1916. Serial No. 9o,96s.

columns from the paths of movement of, the.

cranks and connecting rods, or in the length of the engine inprovidingspace for the col umns between ad acent cylinder units;

- The present invention involves particuporting m'eansby which thecylinders are mounted upon the bed-plate of the engine. This supportingmeans includes a plurality of transverse'fi'ames, preferablyof caststeel and of a web and rib construction, these being mounted upon thebed-plate transverse to the length thereof and having the cylin dersmounted above their upper ends, the center of each-cylinder lying overthe space between a pair of adjacent transverse frames. The bed-plate ofthe engine is provided with webs for the support of the bearings of thecrank shaft and each of the transverse frames is mounted upon thebed-plate directly over one of these hearings with, its ends secured tothe bed-plate on opposite sides of the crank shaft. The cylinders aremounted upon the upper ends of the frames, a sole plate being preferablyprovided mounted directly upon the transverse frames and having' thecylinders secured thereon.

lVith this construction a number of advantages of considerable value andimportance are secured. The enginestructure is strong and rigid and Wellable to withstand both the sidewise thrust of the cross-heads andracking strains which may result from rolling of the boat. At the sametime the structure is of relatively light weight and is sufficientlyopen to give ready'access to the interior parts, such for instance, asthe con necting rod bearings. Moreover, noincrease in the width or inthe length of'the engine needbe made for the accommodation of thetransverse frames, each of which directly overlies one of thecrank-shaft bearings and occupies space which would not otherwise beemployed. In addition to these characteristics of thisfoundationconstruction, the transverse frames may be convenientlyutilized as guides for the cross-heads. Preferably each cross-head isprovided with a pair of detachable slippers at each end of thecross-head and these slippers may be arranged to travel upon removableguides secured to the transverse frames or upon the frames themselves.

These and other features of the invenlarly the prbvision of a novel formof supi tion will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, whichshow the preferred embodiment of the invention. In these drawings,Figure l is a side elevation of an engine constructed in accordance withthe invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on line 22 of Fig. 1 Fig.3 is a horizontal section on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. i is a longitudinalsection through the bed-plate and transverse frames as indicated by theline 4i of Fig.2; Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional detail views on the lines55 and 66 respectively of Fig. and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of oneof the forms of transverse frames or spacing members utilized in thefoundation construction of the engine.

Referring to these drawings, thebed-plate or crank-case A of the engineextends'the entire length of the engine and has cross-' girders A forcarrying the main bearings,

as shown at a in Fig. 4. and at a and a in Fig. 2 (the last referenceletter indicating a separable bearing cap). The crossgii'ders A aresubstantially U-shaped, as is shown in Fig. 2. upstanding legs of the Uof each crossgirder are horizontally faced off so that transverse framemembers similar to that illustrated in Fig. 7 may .be positioned uponeach of these cross-girders and be secured thereto so as to be supportedthereby. The crank-shaft C is shown in cross section in Fig. 2 andaplurality of cranks thereon are indicated at C in Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 1,the reference S indicates an intermediate transverseframe or spacing member shown in perspective in Fig. 7 and the referenceS indicates forward and aftertransverse frames or spacing memberssimilar to each other but ofa shape slightly different from that shownin Fig. 7; The-difference in shape between the intermediate and endtransverse frames will be apparent on comparison of Figs. 4 and 7. Thenumber of intermediate transverse frames S will depend upon the numberof cylinders employed'in the engine, the number of such intermediatetransverse frames being always one less than the number of cylinders. Inthe present instance an engine of two cylinders is illustrated forconvenience so that there is shown but a single intermediate transverseframe S and two end transverse frames S".

As shown in Fig. 1, a sole-plate P is mounted upon the upper ends "ofthe transverse frames S and S" and the cylinders L are mounted upon thesole-plate, thevalves of the several cylinders being actuated by a valvegear V.

Referring particularly to Fig. 7, it will be .noted that the transverseframe or spacing member S includes opposite enlarged The'end faces ofthe cordance with Fig. 7 ismounted upon the" bed plate of the engineover the intermediate transverse web A and the somewhat similartransverse frames S are similarly mounted upon the bed-plate over thetransverse webs A at the ends of the bed-plate.

These' transverse frames form the support for the sole-plate P uponwhich the ylinders L are mounted. Each cylinder is provided with apiston whose piston rod is connected to a cross-head H, and each cross;head is connected by a connecting rod to a crank C on the shaft C. Itwill be noted,

particularly by reference to Fig. 1, that each.

cylinder is mounted over the space between two adjacent transverseframes and that the cross-heads H reciprocate in the spaces betweenadjacent transverse frames. These frames are therefore utilized to guidethe cross-heads in their reciprocatory movements. For this purpose theportions 10 of the side walls 8 of the enlarged end portions of thetransverse frames are faced off either to serve as guides for thecrossheads or to receive detachable guides which may be secured thereto.The latter con- ,struction is indicated inv the drawings wherein thedetachable guides are shown at 14, these being secured to the faces 10of the side walls 8 of the transverse frames. Each cross-head H isprovided with a pair of detachable slippers 15 at each end of thecross-head, each pair of slippers being adapted to travel upon theguides 14 mounted upon the adjacent pair of transverse frames. Thus,each cross-head is provided with four slippers and coacting guides, twoat each end of the cross-head, and each intermediate transverse framehas guides for four slippers thereon, while each end transverse framehas guides for two slippers thereon.

By the employment Off/116 construction herein illustrated and described,great bearings. since the casing is open on both of the bed-plate whichcarry the crank-shaft bearings and are therefore located between thecranks on the crank-shaft. Furthermore, these transverse framesconstructed and positioned, as, above described do not necessitate anincrease in the length of the engine as they coiiperate with thebed-plate and sole-plate in space which otherwise would not be utilized.Y

I claim:

1. In a multi-cylinder engine, the combination of a bed plate; verticalend and intermediate transverse frames mounted thereon in spaced,parallel relation and comprising, each, a pair of opposite leg portionswhich straddle the crank shaft of the engine and are integrallyconnected together, the leg portions of each end frame being provided atthe inner side of the frame with a pair of vertical uides disposed atopposite sides of sha t and in spaced, parallel planes longitudinal ofsaid bed plate, and the leg portions of each intermediate frame havingpairs of similarly-disposed guides at both sides of the frame which arearranged opposite and in co-planar relation to the guides on the nextadjacent frames; a cross-head movable up and down in the space betweeneach pair of adjacent frames and having coacting engagement with theguides thereon to be guided by the same; a lurality of cylinders mountedupon said rames and disposed over the cross-heads, each cylinderhavingits piston connected with the adjacent cross-head; and a connectionbetween each cross-head and the crank shaft. v

leg portions of each end frame being pro-- vided at the inner side ofvthe frame with a pair of vertical guides disposedat opposite sides ofsaid shaft, and the leg portions of each intermediate frame having pairsof similarly-disposed guides at both sides of the frame which arearranged opposite to the guides on the next adjacent frames; acrosshe'ad' movable up and down inthe space between each pair ofadjacent frames and havea ing co-acting engagement with the guidesthereon to be guided by the same; a plurality of cylinders mounted uponsaid frames and disposed over the cross-heads, each cylinder having itspiston connected with the adjacent cross-head; and a connection betweeneach cross-head and the crank shaft.

3. In a multi-cylinder engine, the combination of a bed-plate; aplurality of vertical frames mounted transversely thereon in spaced,parallel relation and comprising, each, a pair of opposite le portionswhich straddle the crank shaft 0- the engine and are integrallyconnected together, the leg portions of each frame being provided on atleast one side ofthe frame with a pair of verti -al guides disposedatopposite sides of said shaft and pro ecting laterally outward from theside'of the frame toward'the guides on the next adjacent frame; acrosshead movable up and down in the space between each pair of ad acentframes and having co-acting engagementwith the guides thereon to beguided by the same; a pluralityof cylinders mounted upon said frames anddisposed over the cross-heads, each cylinder having its piston connectedwith the adjacent cross-head; and a connection, be tween each cross-headand the crank shaft.

4. In a mult-i-cylinder engine, theconn bination 'of a bedplate; aplurality of vertical frames mounted transversely thereon in spaced,parallel relation and comprising, each, a pair of opposite leg portionswhich straddle the crankshaft of the engine, and are integrallyconnected together, the leg portions of each frame being provided on atleast one side of the frame with a pair of vertical guides disposed atopposite ides of said shaft and projecting laterally outward from theside of the frame toward the guides on the next adjacent frame; acrosshead movable up and down in the space between each pair of adjacentframes and provided at each end with a pair of slippers to directlyengage the guides on said frames; a plurality of cylinders mounted uponsaid frames and disposed over the cross-heads, each cylinder having itspiston connected with the adjacent cross-head; and a connection betweeneach cross-head and the crank shaft.

ing a pair of spaced walls arranged lengthwise' with the engine and ajoining wall arranged transverse to the engine, the three walls forminga structure H-shaped in horizontal section with the joining Wallconstituting the cross bar of the H, and four cross-head guides, onemounted on the inner side of each of the two first mentioned walls oneach side of the joining wall; substan-.

tially as described.

7. In a foundation of the kind described, a unitary cast member having apair of spacedsubstantially vertical columns and a central web joiningsaid columns, the plane of the web including the center lines of the.colunms, and a pair of cross-head guides mounted on each of the columnswith the web between the two guides of each pair:

I substantially as described.

8. In a. foundation of the character specified, a unitary cast membercomprising a pair of spaced, substantially-vertical columns and aconnecting web between them, each column embodying top and bottomwallsand spaced inner and outer side walls, and connecting ribs betweensaid inner and outer side walls, the said inner side walls of saidcolumns having opposite guides disposed longitudinally thereof forengagement by a cross-head.

9. In a foundation of the character specified, a pair of unitary castsupporting members arranged opposite each other in spaced parallelrelation and comprising, each, a

pair of spaced, substantiallyvertical columns and a connecting webbetween them, each column embodying connected top and bottom walls andinner and outer side .walls, and connecting ribs between said inner andouter side Walls; the confronting inner faces of said supporting membersbeing provided with longitudinal guides for engagement by the oppositeends of a cross-head movable up and down in the space between saidmembers.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

GREGORY C. DAVISON.

